MJ Guider: Matanzas – “darkwave-inspired soundscapes”

MJ Guider is one of the most underrated producers walking the earth. Quite the outlandish claim, but we’re sticking by it.

Last year, the New Orleans native’s sophomore LP, Sour Cherry Bell, completely bowled us over, taking the number #3 spot in our inaugural Top 50 Albums feature.

While Guider (A.K.A. Melissa Guion) was one of the big winners in 2020, it appears she held a few more aces up her sleeve, and 2021 is a fitting time to reveal them.

Matanzas and the accompanying B-side, Viñales, were inspired by a trip to her mother’s native Cuba in 2017.

Hyunhye Seo: Strands – “various tones of darkness”

Having materialised prior to Guider working on Sour Cherry Bell, the two tracks were left to gather dust, or—more likely—to breathe and morph into something bigger.

Guider reconnected with the tracks late last year, remixing the pair which ended up as the final cuts.

First there’s Matanzas. A track that continues to revel in the echoing tunnels Guider has inhabited over the past decade, carving out dream-pop and darkwave-inspired soundscapes. It captures the same energy of Guider‘s previous tracks, Evencyle and Body Optics . Some of Guider‘s best work yet.

Rachel Nicholas: Sloth – “back with a vengeance”

Viñales is equally beautiful, a drone-laden dub cut that escapes the aforementioned tunnel, occupying a similar world where Seefeel flourished during the days of Quique.

Should we be surprised, though? It’s what we’ve come to expect from MJ Guider. Yet another sequence of songs that crystallises her position as one of the most vital exponents of sound today.

Matanzas/ Viñales is out now via modelmain. Purchase via Bandcamp.